Indigenous peoples hold 20% of the earth's landmass but that land harbours 80% of the world's remaining biodiversity.

Of more than 130 clinically useful major prescriptive drugs that are derived from plants over 70% came to the attention of pharmaceutical companies because of Indigenous peoples use in traditional forms of medicine.

Wayne D. Garnons-Williams Legal + Environment + Storyteller

“Justice for All”

From the Court room to the theatre, Wayne Garnons-Williams engages his audience to see another perspective. Specializing in Aboriginal and Environmental issues, Wayne is an expert in Corporate, Commercial and Trade Law. With experience from Corporate, government and Indigenous worlds Wayne brings a wealth of insight and depth of knowledge to his audience. Wayne takes complex historical and legal problems and transforms them into future possibilities for all.

Wayne is Senior Lawyer and Principal Director of Garwill Law Professional Corp. that offers litigation, ADR and corporate commercial services with expertise in Aboriginal law, Customs, Excise and International Trade law.

Wayne resolves challenging civil litigation and corporate commercial law problems that have a mix of Aboriginal law and Trade Law concepts. Providing corporate law services to young and growing start-up companies and First Nation business ventures is a passion for Wayne.

Wayne was born on the Moosomin First Nation, Treaty 6 territory in Saskatchewan. He received his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Windsor and his Bachelor of Laws at Queen’s University. He was called to the bar in the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1992 and to the Law Society of British Columbia in 1994. For nine years he was a lawyer practicing in the Litigation Section, Department of Justice, Ottawa and Vancouver Regional Office. As a lawyer Wayne gained litigation and ADR experience in most federal boards and tribunals, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal as well as the Superior and Appeal Courts of Ontario and British Columbia. In 1999 he accepted the position of Senior Litigation Counsel, Sierra Legal Defence Fund, Eagle Project (Environmental and Aboriginal Guardianship through Law and Education) in Vancouver which litigates aboriginal title/ environmental issues on behalf of First Nations in British Columbia and Alberta. In 2001 Wayne obtained his Certificate in Advanced Alternative Dispute Resolution from the University of Windsor. In the fall of 2008 he received his Masters of specializing in Judicial Administration Management theory and practice at Dalhousie University.

From 2008 to 2011 Wayne was the President of the National Council for Aboriginal Federal Employees (NCAFE). Wayne is currently an active member in the Indigenous Bar Association, the Canadian Bar Association (Aboriginal Law, Corporate Law, Civil Litigation and Administrative Law chapters), the Carleton County Law Association, the Advocates’ Society and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

Wayne held various federal executive legal positions, including: Registrar of the Federal Court of Canada; Director of Service Coordination, Courts Administration Service and Director for Resolutions, Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada and closing out his public sector career as Deputy Head and Registrar of the Specific Claims Tribunal of Canada. In December 2012, Wayne was appointed Tribunal Chair of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Appeal Tribunal. He is the founding Chair of the International Inter-Tribal Trade and Investment Group.

Inter-tribal Trade and Commerce

What if 370 million people from 70 countries decided to become trading partners? How would that benefit their economy, their way of life or the world? Founder of the first ever International InterTribal Trade Conference, Wayne D. Garnons-Williams, will share with you the exciting prospects on the horizon and inspire you to think outside the box.

The Jay Treaty for Aboriginal People Crossing the Canada/USA border

Crossing the Canada/USA border is something different for American and Canadian Indigenous people. What do the War of Independence between the United States and Great Britain and the War of 1812 have to do with border crossing today? What is the future for land crossing in the context of the Jay Treaty?

Business, Government, and NGOs

Executive Leadership Development

If you wish to be considered for a promotion from supervisor to manager, from junior manager to senior manager, or from senior manager to executive, Wayne’s experience and insights into everything from performance and goal setting to “360 feedback” and mentoring can help you achieve that next advancement. As Deputy Head of a federal government department, a senior executive, an organization president, and Chair of a Tribunal Court of Justice, Wayne knows the secret to breaking into leadership at the next level.

Leading Change Management

Adjusting to change in a workplace can be very hard; leading that change is even harder. Wayne’s experience as a senior manager leading change at a “change-intensive” time can provide you with insights, tools and techniques to move forward and meet your designated change targets. Understand change from the various perspectives and how to address change-resistant people and issues.

Organizational Performance Measurement and Evaluation

From government to NGOs to the private sector, all organizations need to set objectives, meet targets, and evaluate success. Wayne will walk you through this important annual process so that your organization can start tracking results that matter.

Briefing Decision Makers: Telling It Like It Is

Most organizations need to pass complex specialized information up a long chain of command, from line workers/experts to field managers to regional directors to HQ Executives, for decisions. Messages can get lost in the shuffle. Learn from Wayne’s years of briefing experience (in both preparing and receiving briefings) how to make your oral and written briefing shine and ensure your message is received.

Values and Ethics in the Workplace

Every organization, large or small, has either clear and spelled out standards of values and ethics, or a set of guidelines that have evolved from the day-to-day conduct of business affairs by employees and management. At the federal office of Values and Ethics Canada, Wayne helped develop the ethical standards that still govern conduct among federal public servants to this day. Understand the importance of an organizational set of standards and how a failure to meet minimal requirements will drive talent away and directly affect your business’s bottom line. Wayne will help you start the conversation for your organization by giving you the tools to identify problems and improve the standards of values and ethics for your organization.

The Art and Craft of Influencing Public Policy

Wayne shares secrets learned from many years on the inside of government as legal counsel to government departments and as an executive charged with the development of public policy. What key factors do decision makers and policy wonks look for when determining policy? Wayne can show you strategies for ensuring that your policy objectives are heard loud and clear, and seen in the best light.

Policy Creation Process

Government versus NGOs versus the Private Sector – Wayne has over 20 years’ experience working on policy from the inside, in government (as legal counsel for various departments), as well as pushing for change through the world of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) and the private sector. Wayne will lead you to better understand how government representatives approach problems, so that you can both talk their talk and appeal to their needs, while at the same time meeting your own objectives. Wayne will help you develop your own techniques and tools for achieving your organization’s desired goals to influence decision makers, change policy or obtain approvals.

Law and Justice

Our Justice System

Take an auditory journey with Wayne and explore the Canadian legal system in all its many diverse facets and perspectives. Wayne shares his hands-on experience as a courtroom lawyer and Courts Administrator to give you a privileged view of the judicial system from the perspectives of the client, the lawyer, the judge, the judicial administrator (who runs the show from behind the scenes), and the Office of the Minister of Justice. This unique presentation gives you true insight into Canada’s judicial system, where “justice must be done and be seen to be done.”

Alternative Forms of Justice: Outside the Mainstream

Having worked early in his career in both in a traditional court system, and in Tribal Courts using sentencing circles and alternative dispute resolution, Wayne spent much of his later career designing justice systems outside the mainstream. Wayne’s understanding has been invaluable in the development of the Specific Claims Tribunal and the FSIN Appeal Tribunal. Wayne’s message is a blending of the western legal concepts of procedural and administrative fairness with traditional teaching of Indigenous legal philosophy.

Dispute Resolution

Wayne has spent many years as a courtroom lawyer practicing dispute resolution on the courthouse steps, in the boardrooms, and in labour negotiations. Wayne holds a Certificate in Advanced ADR (University of Windsor), the black belt of Dispute Resolution. Understand how to evaluate your negotiation position and resolve issues before they turn into conflict. Learn from Wayne how to identify conflict-susceptible issues before they arise, and how to address those issues to achieve a winwin solution every time.

Indigenous Rights Are Everyone’s Business

Indigenous people are the fastest growing population in Canada, and in some provinces they will soon become the majority. Are we ready to address the ever growing imbalance with this population’s rights? This presentation explores the past and present to help us inspire a new and brighter future.

Aboriginal Law, Rights, Interests and Obligations: The Next Decade

You have heard these phrases in the news and perhaps these issues may impact your work or business, but what does it mean and where does it come from? What do these things mean to me now and in the future?

Making Treaties (What is a Specific Aboriginal Claim?)

We all live on Treaty land. Do we have any idea even what that means? Can we say that those promises have been kept? Learn from a Legal expert what the past and future holds for each of us as we explore treaties and Aboriginal claims.

What does "Consultation with Indigenous Peoples" Really Mean?

A great deal of news and politics has been stirred up with the notion of “consultation with Indigenous peoples.” Understand where this comes from and what federal government, provincial government, Indigenous, and industry obligations exist. Is there a connection between “consultation” and “free and informed consent”?

“The Indian Problem”!?

Why are Aboriginal people in the Constitution of Canada? Do we really understand the implications for our country of past constitutional changes? These questions are at the core of what is sometimes referred to as “the Indian Problem.” Look at this with a fresh perspective and see the possibilities instead of the problems.

Urban Aboriginal

Over half of all status Indians in Canada live off reserve. A large number live in urban centres. Wayne shares his experiences being a Band member living in the City (first as a law student, and then as a lawyer and executive in BC and Ontario). What does it mean to be Indigenous in the City? What conflicts exist between on-reserve and off-reserve peoples? Wayne shares his personal experiences of “bridging both worlds” and how it has made him stronger.

Personal Work Space

Work/Family Life Balance: Lessons from a Type-A Personality Survivor

Take a learning journey from Wayne, who led the high-pressure life of the career executive manager. Understand the sacrifices that must be made and how you can use the traditional teaching of Indigenous elders to finding inner balance so as to keep harmony in all aspects of your life.

Motivation

We all lose our motivational mojo occasionally, and having the tools and techniques to spot the problem and get ourselves back on track is what this talk is all about. Wayne will share his insights as a senior leader of staff, a father, and an entrepreneur. Insights from Wayne’s 25 years’ experience and reputation as a successful lawyer, senior executive and parent will help you meet your objectives “on time, on budget and to specification.”

Time Management

As a busy senior executive, lawyer, and father, Wayne has mastered time management. Wayne will take you on a journey of discovery toward the art and craft of stretching your time to achieve your goals. He will share his secrets to successfully managing multi-million dollar projects and large numbers of demanding staff, to achieve any target “On time, on budget, and to specification!”

Employment Equity

Equality in the workplace is everybody’s business. Learn how to deal with institutional bias, subtle racism and “old-boy privilege.” Wayne shares his insights as past president of a public service council devoted to addressing employment equity for Aboriginal people. Wayne will speak of his experience in developing inroads to improve employment equity and how you can make a positive difference for your workplace.

Addressing Racism, Prejudice, Hate and Bias in our Work Environment

Take an auditory journey with Wayne to explore how racism, prejudice, hate and bias manifest themselves in the workplace. Learn to spot the signs of “institutional creep” into your workplace and what you can do to counter this workplace toxin with proactive and positive action.

So You Want to Start a Business or an NGO

One of Wayne’s passions in his practice of law is helping individuals start a small business or non-profit entity. Wayne will take you through the steps of how to get your business idea off the ground. From initial idea to finished business/ service/product Wayne will bring you through the steps needed to make your dream a reality

Environment

Sustainable and Renewable Development

As climate change starts to affect our world, it is becoming essential for our survival to blend modern sciences and economics with traditional Indigenous knowledge and practices. Working as a lawyer for the Sierra Legal Defence Fund (now Ecojustice) and as a Department of Justice lawyer, Wayne has brought environmentalists, Indigenous groups, industry, and government together to work on the concept of a watershed stewardship table. Learn to build your own stakeholder bridges to develop dialogue and mutual understanding on your various projects.

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"Wayne was an engaging speaker who sparked lively postpresentation discussion and debate about the place of Indigenous legal principles in standard Business Law."

- Bradford W. Morse, Dean of Faculty of Law Thompson Rivers University

"Mr. Garnons-Williams set the tone and elevated the mood for our inaugural bi-annual conference series. His opening address invited all conference participants to “make friends, ask questions and be inquisitive.” His presentation style was inviting and insightful, and he was able to show our conferencegoers the overarching connections among this conference and what we hope to achieve, how we will do it, and what we can do with the results."

- Lindsay Robertson, Faculty Director, University of Oklahoma, College of Law

"Wayne Garnons-Williams has the ability to motivate, inform and convince audiences large and small, of all ages, levels of education, and degrees of attention span.

…he combines tremendous knowledge with captivating style. Whatever the topic, he is guaranteed to wake everybody up, rope them in, and excite them about learning more…"

Outside the countless appearances in Federal and Provincial Courts, International Tribunals, and various Boards, Commissions, Standing Committees of the Parliament of Canada, Wayne’s has been requested to present by the following clients:

Federal Government Agencies and Crown Corporations

Privy Council Office

Office of the Auditor General

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Department of Justice

Department of Foreign Affairs

Trade and Development

Administrative Tribunals Support Services of Canada

Public Service Commission of Canada

Canada Border Services

Canada Revenue Agency

Department of National Defence

Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada

Courts Administration Services

Library and Archives Canada

Parks Canada

Passport Canada

Public Service Commission

Registry of the Specific Claims Tribunal of Canada

Health Canada

Canadian Centre for Management Development

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Canada School of Public Service

Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada

Educational Institutions

Ottawa University, Faculty of Law

Dalhousie University, Faculty of Management

Queen’s University, Faculty of Law

Earl of March Secondary School

Algonquin College, Law Clerk Program

Stephen Leacock Primary School

Saskatchewan, Faculty of Law

University of Windsor, Faculties of Public Administration and Law

University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law

Simon Fraser University Thompson Rivers University, Faculty of Law

University of Oklahoma, College of Law, Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

Organizations

The Canadian Institute

Sierra Legal Defence Fund (now Ecojustice)

Amnesty International

Scouts Canada

Beaverbrook Community Association

Kanata Theatre

Indigenous Bar Association

Ontario Bar Association

National Association for Court Management

Office of Public Service Values and Ethics

Office of Sustainable Aquaculture

Western Canada Wilderness Committee

West Coast Environmental Law

Four Worlds Centre for Development Learning

Environmental Mining Council of B.C.

Peace Arch Community Services

Land and Water British Columbia

International Joint Commission- Canada and United States

Indigenous Organizations

National Council of Federal Aboriginal Employees (NCAFE)

Environmental and Aboriginal Guardianship through Law and Education (EAGLE)

Wayne is Senior Lawyer and Principal Director of Garwill Law Professional Corp. that offers litigation, ADR and corporate commercial services with expertise in Aboriginal law, Customs, Excise and International Trade law.

Wayne resolves challenging civil litigation and corporate commercial law problems that have a mix of Aboriginal law and Trade Law concepts. Providing corporate law services to young and growing start-up companies and First Nation business ventures is a passion for Wayne.

Wayne was born on the Moosomin First Nation, Treaty 6 territory in Saskatchewan. He received his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Windsor and his Bachelor of Laws at Queen’s University. He was called to the bar in the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1992 and to the Law Society of British Columbia in 1994. For nine years he was a lawyer practicing in the Litigation Section, Department of Justice, Ottawa and Vancouver Regional Office. As a lawyer Wayne gained litigation and ADR experience in most federal boards and tribunals, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal as well as the Superior and Appeal Courts of Ontario and British Columbia. In 1999 he accepted the position of Senior Litigation Counsel, Sierra Legal Defence Fund, Eagle Project (Environmental and Aboriginal Guardianship through Law and Education) in Vancouver which litigates aboriginal title/ environmental issues on behalf of First Nations in British Columbia and Alberta. In 2001 Wayne obtained his Certificate in Advanced Alternative Dispute Resolution from the University of Windsor. In the fall of 2008 he received his Masters of specializing in Judicial Administration Management theory and practice at Dalhousie University.

From 2008 to 2011 Wayne was the President of the National Council for Aboriginal Federal Employees (NCAFE). Wayne is currently an active member in the Indigenous Bar Association, the Canadian Bar Association (Aboriginal Law, Corporate Law, Civil Litigation and Administrative Law chapters), the Carleton County Law Association, the Advocates’ Society and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

Wayne held various federal executive legal positions, including: Registrar of the Federal Court of Canada; Director of Service Coordination, Courts Administration Service and Director for Resolutions, Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada and closing out his public sector career as Deputy Head and Registrar of the Specific Claims Tribunal of Canada. In December 2012, Wayne was appointed Tribunal Chair of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Appeal Tribunal. He is the founding Chair of the International Inter-Tribal Trade and Investment Group.

What People Say

"Wayne was an engaging speaker who sparked lively postpresentation discussion and debate about the place of Indigenous legal principles in standard Business Law."

- Bradford W. Morse, Dean of Faculty of Law Thompson Rivers University

"Mr. Garnons-Williams set the tone and elevated the mood for our inaugural bi-annual conference series. His opening address invited all conference participants to “make friends, ask questions and be inquisitive.” His presentation style was inviting and insightful, and he was able to show our conferencegoers the overarching connections among this conference and what we hope to achieve, how we will do it, and what we can do with the results."

- Lindsay Robertson, Faculty Director, University of Oklahoma, College of Law

"Wayne Garnons-Williams has the ability to motivate, inform and convince audiences large and small, of all ages, levels of education, and degrees of attention span.

…he combines tremendous knowledge with captivating style. Whatever the topic, he is guaranteed to wake everybody up, rope them in, and excite them about learning more…"

-

Featured Speakers

Featured in CBC’s Moccassins & Concrete documentary and having performed with the likes of Serena Ryder, Andrea Menard, Plex and many others, Eddy Robinson’s perspective and drum beats are highly sought after.

Eddy Robinson is a caring and motivated educator, speaker, and life changer. He speaks to the need for understanding the benefits of knowing your culture. Eddy will enlighten and entertain with passionate, personal narratives, along with a depth of insight into indigenous culture and knowledge.

Named one of CBC Saskatchewan’s "Future 40", Dr. Jaris Swidrovich is Canada's first self-identified First Nations Doctor of Pharmacy. As President of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists, and member of numerous other boards Swidrovich brings his successful multiversity experience of bridging organizational needs with Health Care mandates. Passionate about health, education, and how Indigenous and marginalized people are impacted at local, provincial, national, and international levels, Dr. Swidrovich delivers powerful presentations illustrating how we can all be part of the cure and partake in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's Calls to Action.

Gemini Award winning Actress, and multi-award nominee, including Best Lead Actress and Best Actress in a TV series, powerhouse celebrity Michelle Thrush knows what it takes to light up a stage. Wit, humour, passion, and creativity are just a few of Michelle’s attributes, outside of celebrity, that draw her to stages world-wide. Whether she is speaking from her heart, hosting galas, or breaking down the barriers of stereotypes, Michelle engages, captivates, and moves audiences to feel and see her unique vision of life.

Multi-award winning International Leadership Speaker and Author, Ngahihi o te ra Bidois is known as "The Face of New Zealand" inspires with the timeless wisdom from the Maori culture. This Modern day warrior’s presentation on "Ancient Wisdom Modern Solutions" is why he is the recipient of the National Professional Speakers Association, New Zealand Inspirational Speaker of the Year. A Maori leader, Ngahi combines centuries of tradition, along with his hands-on business experience, and academic qualifications to bring a message that transcends cultural boundaries.